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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · prune · kid · ball · pitcher · racket · spell · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kid — to tease
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. file — a tool
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — size or range
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kid — child
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. spell — magic
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. ball — a dance
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com